owlsbooks Chapter 2 Pets and Discovering Clues
Chapter 2 Pets and Discovering Clues
Just as Wang Tianlong was recounting his "glorious deeds," a familiar restlessness suddenly came from the spirit beast pouch at his waist, pulling him back from his memories.
He smiled helplessly, and with a thought, the bag opened. A purple shadow darted out and landed steadily in his palm. It was a rodent-like spirit beast, entirely silver-gray except for a striking tuft of purple fur on its head. As soon as the little creature appeared, it stood on its hind legs, clasped its two front paws together, and squeaked incessantly at Wang Tianlong, its small, beady eyes filled with eagerness and ingratiation.
"You," Wang Tianlong flicked its little head lightly with his fingertip and snorted, "You still have the nerve to ask for a reward? If you hadn't been so greedy and insisted on eating that precious Shadow Leopard of Old Ghost Black Wind, would we have been chased so miserably by him and five Nascent Soul cultivators? We almost became someone else's refining material!"
The purple-haired mouse seemed to understand its master's scolding. Its little ears drooped down, and the "squeaking" sound from its mouth subsided, but its eyes were still staring at Wang Tianlong expectantly, and its tail twitched uneasily.
Seeing its appearance, Wang Tianlong finally couldn't maintain his stern expression. He sighed, flipped his wrist, and a dark cyan demon core the size of a longan, radiating pure demonic power and a faint aura of wind and thunder, appeared in his palm—this was the demon core from the "Shadow Leopard" belonging to Black Wind Old Ghost. "Take it. You're just greedy. If you cause trouble again next time, see if I'll still care about you."
The purple-furred rat squeaked with delight, its tiny paws swiftly grabbing the demon core—which was quite large for it—and swallowing it whole. Immediately, a faint purple-blue halo enveloped its body, and it let out a satisfied burp. It nestled in his palm, squinting its eyes, displaying a remarkably human-like expression of enjoyment, and even the purple fur on its head seemed to shine brighter.
Wang Tianlong gazed at the small beast in his palm, a barely perceptible tenderness flickering in the depths of his eyes. He had found this little creature deep within the cave of an ancient cultivator when he was in the Foundation Establishment stage, a place where he had narrowly escaped death. At that time, it was a dying cub, huddled in a corner, only the tuft of purple fur on its head stubbornly shining. Seeing its shared plight (both trapped in perilous places) and recognizing its extraordinary intelligence, Wang Tianlong took it out and named it "Purple-Fur Rat." For nearly a thousand years, they had been companions, from its weak beginnings to its current status as a powerful partner possessing the bloodline of a treasure-hunting rat, helping him repeatedly gain opportunities. Their bond had long surpassed that of an ordinary master and servant.
"Sleep well and digest properly." Sensing the purple-haired rat's aura gradually stabilizing after consuming the demon core, and its spiritual energy slowly but steadily increasing, Wang Tianlong gently lifted it up. This little guy has now reached the mid-Nascent Soul stage. The demon core from this Nascent Soul stage demon beast is pure and powerful; he hopes it can use this opportunity to break through to the late stage.
Carefully, Wang Tianlong put the sleeping purple-furred rat back into his spirit beast pouch, and specially adjusted the space inside to make it more suitable for cultivation and sleep. He gazed into the distance, his eyes regaining their sharp and distant focus.
Wang Tianlong withdrew his gaze from the distant mountains, but his brows furrowed slightly. The relief of escaping danger gradually faded, replaced by a chilling doubt.
He realized that the Black Wind Ghost who had ambushed him this time was not right.
He had dealt with Black Wind Old Ghost more than once. Like himself, the other was a rogue cultivator who had struggled his way up, his cultivation stuck at the mid-stage of the Nascent Soul realm for many years. How could a rogue cultivator without a powerful backer or any extraordinary opportunities suddenly produce a terrifyingly powerful heaven-reaching spiritual treasure?
This isn't the kind of talisman or elixir you can buy in the market. Even though the resources for cultivation in the human realm are far richer than in ancient times, and the number of Nascent Soul cultivators has increased, Heaven-Reaching Spiritual Treasures are still supreme treasures at the sect and clan level, extremely rare, and far beyond the reach of ordinary Nascent Soul cultivators. His own Heaven-Treading Boots were obtained from the system after nine hundred and ninety-nine "sword fights." And where did Black Wind Old Ghost's "Bone-Corroding Black Banner" come from?
There were also four other Nascent Soul cultivators as allies. Wang Tianlong considered himself to have "extensive connections"—or rather, "enemies all over the world"—he had more or less "encountered" all of the more than two hundred Nascent Soul cultivators currently existing in the human realm (mostly being hunted down or hunting others). But the four who surrounded him had unfamiliar faces, strange auras, and the spells they used were sinister and malevolent, carrying an extremely uncomfortable sense of filth and evil, completely different from the mainstream Daoist methods of the human realm.
He suddenly recalled an old news story from ten years ago: an important auction in the Great Jin Dynasty was attacked by unidentified Nascent Soul stage demonic cultivators. Not only were the treasures stolen, but several junior Nascent Soul stage cultivators in attendance were also brutally murdered, causing a great shock. Afterwards, investigations by various parties only yielded the vague conclusion that "it was suspected that demonic cultivators from outside had infiltrated the area."
"Could it be...they?" Wang Tianlong's eyes narrowed. If Black Wind Old Ghost colluded with this group of mysterious demonic cultivators, or was even one of them, then it would explain the origin of the Heavenly Treasure and those strange and evil accomplices.
Should we leak this news? Stirring up trouble is his "specialty." If it's confirmed that external demonic forces have infiltrated, he might be able to fish in troubled waters amidst the chaos, or even force more Nascent Soul cultivators to attack him, thus completing a wave of "slashing" missions.
He hesitated for a moment, then finally shook his head.
"Forget it," Wang Tianlong murmured. Firstly, he was only a hair's breadth away from the late Nascent Soul stage, and his most pressing task was to achieve a smooth breakthrough and ascend to the Spirit Realm. Getting involved in such a massive vortex that could affect the entire top echelons of the human realm was too unpredictable and not worth the effort. Secondly, there were only about two hundred Nascent Soul cultivators in the human realm, and he had already "visited" almost all of them; the number he could add to the ranks was probably limited. It seemed that the system's mission would ultimately have to wait until there were more and more "involving" cultivators in the upper realm to complete it.
The most urgent task is to find opportunities to help achieve a breakthrough.
"The centennial auction in the Great Jin Imperial City seems to be about to begin..." A thought flashed through his mind. This was a rare grand event in the human realm, jointly organized by the ten major sects of the Great Jin Dynasty. It was unprecedented in scale, and rare items from Kunwu Mountain would be released. Kunwu Mountain was the most spiritually significant place in the human realm, jointly managed by the "Kunwu Alliance," a coalition of Nascent Soul cultivators from various forces. It was led by three highly respected late-stage Nascent Soul cultivators known as the "Three Elders of Kunwu," and was considered a sacred place for cultivation in the human realm. Every treasure released from it was a rare gem.
Perhaps there might be a elixir or spiritual object there that could help him break through the final barrier.
With this in mind, Wang Tianlong no longer hesitated. With a flick of his sleeve, a streamlined cyan boat appeared out of thin air, its hull shimmering with wind patterns—his natal magic weapon, the Wind-Riding Boat. After years of nurturing and tempering with Nascent Soul stage cultivation techniques, the boat's speed had reached an astonishing level.
He stepped into the boat, a thought stirring in his mind.
"Go to the capital of the Great Jin Dynasty."
With a flash of blue light, the small boat transformed into a wisp of subtle, imperceptible wind, tearing through the clouds and disappearing into the horizon in an instant, leaving only a few ripples of spiritual energy in its wake.